Proponents of exporting large volumes of Wyoming coal to Asia say the effect on global greenhouse gas emissions would be negligible.

They say shipping more U.S. coal overseas would not increase global demand for the fossil fuel, which is driven mainly by China's development and heavy use of coal to produce electricity.

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Experts with companies that seek to develop coal-export terminals in the Pacific Northwest on Thursday spoke at a conference in Cheyenne hosted by the Wyoming Infrastructure Authority.

Michael Mewing with coal port developer Lighthouse Resources says Indonesia in recent years has grown into a top coal exporter. But he says coal from Wyoming's Powder River Basin could easily compete with Indonesian coal.

He says Japan, South Korea and Taiwan are the top potential overseas markets for Wyoming coal.